Lettuce See the Future: Japanese Farmer Builds High-Tech Indoor Veggie Factory

[Electric Monk]

The LED lights are a key part of the farm’s magic. They allow Shimamura to control the night-and-day cycle and accelerate growth. “What we need to do is not just setting up more days and nights,” he says. “We want to achieve the best combination of photosynthesis during the day and breathing at night by controlling the lighting and the environment.”

Shimamura says that the systems allows him to grow lettuce full of vitamins and minerals two-and-a-half times faster than an outdoor farm. He is also able to cut discarded produce from 50 percent to just 10 percent of the harvest, compared to a conventional farm. As a result, the farms productivity per square foot is up 100-fold, he says.

By controlling temperature, humidity and irrigation, the farm can also cut its water usage to just 1 percent of the amount needed by outdoor fields.

more
http://www.gereports.com/post/91250246340/lettuce-see-the-future-japanese-farmer-builds

[littlemissmartypants]

1. Great use for all the empty

Walmart super stores I hope to see one day.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

6. Very good idea there.

applause!

[intheozone]

2. I would think there would be no pest control needed also. Shouldn't have

a pest problem when everything is indoors? I don't really know, but it seems logical to me.

[hunter]

11. Pest control in greenhouses is painful.

Pests and pathogens you rarely see in an outdoor organic garden manage to get in and their populations explode because their are no predators or competitors.

Then, when you are forced to rely on pesticides, the worker exposure to these pesticides is increased because the airflow is reduced.

I suspect even greenhouses in deep space will suffer this problem, even with no further contact from earth.

An environment like this is roughly analogous to a person suffering an immune deficiency. Organisms that are generally harmless in a healthy natural environment can quickly multiply and turn into a deadly infection.

[Blue Owl]

3. Exactly how much lettuce he can grow romaines to be seen

n/t

[KurtNYC]

4. I got hooked on farming by using an Aerogarden

It is like having an aquarium -- you have life in some extra corner of your home -- but this one gives you food. I bought an aerogarden and really couldn't believe how fast and productive it was. I got a second one last year and grew through the winter. And last year I started renting farmland and growing outdoors.

About $200 at retail but plenty on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aerogarden-Model-100705-7-Pod-Indoor-Plant-Herb-Growing-System-/181456852326?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item2a3fabd566

The japanese LED system is impressive and interesting. Thanks for sharing that.

[eShirl]

5. reminds me of High Times articles back in the day

gotta love this new LED grow light technology though; much more energy efficient

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

7. I can see this popping up in more places as climate change starts screwing

up the growing seasons, and that '15% of water usage' has got to look damned attractive to people who are in areas hit hard by droughts.

[msongs]

8. two HUGE thing missing from this General Electric website puff piece -

brags about saving water, growing faster, cutting wasted plants, but not a peep about the cost of the final produce due and the cost of all that lighting hardware and electricity

[drm604]

9. LEDs are efficient, so maybe the energy costs aren't to high.

[Vincardog]

10. I believe the increase in productivity would allow for some solar or wind electricity.